McDonogh lineman Jared Cohen commits to North Carolina

Karl Merton Ferron, The Baltimore Sun

McDonogh, North Carolina

McDonogh, North Carolina (Karl Merton Ferron, The Baltimore Sun)

Alexander PylesThe Baltimore Sun

McDonogh offensive lineman Jared Cohen on Tuesday announced plans to play football at North Carolina next season, apparently concluding a recruitment that took a turn late last year when the four-star prospect decommitted from Maryland.

The committment came after an in-home visit by North Carolina coach Chris Kapilovic, 247Sports reported.

Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cohen, who helped the Eagles win the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title last season, committed to the Terps last February. He had second thoughts after Penn State coaches expressed interest, and decommitted from Maryland in order to visit State College.

"When I first began my recruitment, Penn State was my top school. Recently, they told me they wanted to offer me," Cohen wrote on Twitter in December. "I told the Maryland coaches that I wanted to go up there for an official visit, but they said the only way that I could go was if I decommitted. I didn't want to, but I was given no other choice."

But circumstances changed when former Nittany Lions coach Bill O'Brien left Penn State to become head coach of the Houston Texans. He was replaced on Jan. 11 by Vanderbilt coach James Franklin, a former Maryland assistant.

By choosing North Carolina over Maryland, the 6-foot-3, 305-pound Cohen forfeit the opportunity to play with former McDonogh teammates Josh Woods and Roman Braglio. Woods committed to the Terps in November and Braglio played 10 games for Maryland last season as a redshirt freshman.

"Congrats to my bro @Tha_Jare_Bear for his commit to #UNC," Woods wrote on Tuesday. "Bummed he wont be Terps but he'll always be family #AlwaysEagles."